


The Beautiful People

by Rinusagitora



Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M, I, M/M, Other, Platonic Relationships, mostly platonic KarinHina tho tbh, there's implied HitsuYuki, vampire!AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-03-06
Packaged: 2018-05-20 18:16:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6020106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rinusagitora/pseuds/Rinusagitora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She should’ve been careful what she wished for. At least she wouldn’t be bored.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've wanted to do a BroTP-centric story for awhile now, and then this idea struck me. It’s kind of weird, in my opinon, but oh well. I may completely ruin it if I mess with it too much.

Karakura City was the most complacent, uneventful village in history. It’s population just over four hundred, the only reason Karakura existed was because of its lumber, and it was small enough that she could’ve walked from one side to the other and back in under an hour even at the stoplight. Its only recreation was a single pub, and the rest were houses, the mill, the schoolhouse, and the clinic her father ran in their basement. Her junior class was a total of twenty individuals and her classes were anywhere between four and seven. 

The people of her village were hardly any better. Since there was nothing to do outside of work and drink, the people were bored and therefore made their own fun; petty gossip and bar fights. It was a conservative town; if one wasn't a white, straight Evangelist man they were lesser and probably well on their way to Hell. Needless to say, her mixed, bisexual ass didn't stand a chance. And although her family was the pinnacle of what was actually saintly-- she would’ve argued that her sister should’ve been venerated when they were elementary students-- it simply wasn’t enough. 

She would’ve _loved_ to move to the big city. There was more to do and the population was far more liberal for the most part and people kept out of each other’s business, but Karakura was her mother’s hometown and her family wouldn’t move lest they were chased out with pitchforks and torches and accusations of witchcraft. She would stay, take online college courses, and deal with the commute to the city after she graduated with her speech therapy certification. And perhaps, she thought, the glamour of the big city wouldn’t fade if she only spent small amounts of time there. 

She walked down main street, looked down at the dirty toes of her converse and squinted against the wind and the sunset over the horizon. It was quiet; a ghost town then. If people weren’t at the football game they were in the diner or barber’s to watch it. Thankfully it left the streets empty and Karakura virtually to herself. 

She heard a car beside her on the road, and she popped out her other earbud as she watched it as it approached over her shoulder. It was a hearse, she realized, painted in black acrylic with a silver streak across it and its windows tinted near opaque. It was odd, she thought. It was hardly a tourist town and their visitation was mostly cars to stop for gas then leave back on the highway, hardly anyone drove through and especially not in a hearse. 

It pulled up beside her, and the window rolled down, and she watched as pale fingers emerged from between the smoky grey, satin curtains and slowly slid them aside. A woman sat beyond the silk, square sunglasses perched on her sinuses and a coffee-black bob framed her face, and she watched as the rider pulled her glasses off with black French manicured nails; matte bases and acrylic tips. She simply screamed of money and city glamour and--- 

Her breath hitched in her throat. Danger, she finished. Her instincts twisted her guts in knots and screamed in her ear to run; that something wasn’t right, that she would’ve been torn to pieces if she looked them in the eye. She was frozen in place. 

The stranger’s ruby lips pulled into a charismatic smile, and her heart stuttered as her gaze rested on the stranger’s teeth– fangs were more accurate she was sure. Pearly daggers, a mix of sophistication and power that she’d thought only existed in fashion catalogues, and she whined weakly. 

“Hey dollface,” they purred. “Do tell, do you know a Toushirou Hitsugaya?” 

She nodded then, would’ve answered if her tongue wasn’t caught in her throat. 

“And where’s his house?” 

She swallowed her anxiety then, the thick imaginary lump lodged in her trachea before she lifted her hand and pointed down the block. “About two blocks down the street, hang a right. It's the white house with the cherry doorway.” She breathed. 

“Thanks doll, you’re a lifesaver.” The stranger laughed. “How about you come with me? I know you’re curious, and it’ll be fun. You look like you could use some excitement.” 

She shuddered and folded her arms under her chest, and scratched her elbow with her blunt nails. “I… I have to go home, my sister is–” 

“C’mon, doll. You're not at the game-- you must be bored out of your skin. How about I show you something real interesting?” She purred. 

She rocked nervously on her feet before she combed her fingers through her hair. She did, she was curious, it wasn’t often Karakura had visitors and never visitors like her. She hardly could’ve been blamed for her intrigue. 

Although her fear was still present, her curiosity was stronger. A bizarre visitor who looked for the pariah of Karakura? She had to know. 

So she popped the door open and sat where the stranger formerly did. The doors locked again and the curtains fell shut, and her heart pounded in her ribs from the sense of rebellion and danger. 

“You heard the girl, Wabisuke. Onwards,” The stranger addressed the driver-- a mere lump under layers of black-- and she watched as she fished into her clutch and pulled out a cigarette and its lighter. “I’m Momo, by the way, Missus Momo Kira. My brother moved here in two thousand, but I haven’t seen him since probably the late eighties, so visiting him now is a real treat.” Momo said, and she raised an eyebrow. She looked so young, she thought, if she hadn’t seen her brother they must’ve been apart since childhood. Momo took a long drag then, and she offered her a cigarette. She gingerly accepted, pulled it to her lips and tucked her hair behind her ear as she leaned over. Momo lit it, and she inhaled and sputtered, and her companion laughed. “How cute! It's your first time, isn't it? That's the good stuff, doll. Savor it.” 

She shook her head and took another drag as her eyes watered. “I-It’s potent, if nothing else.” 

Momo laughed boisterously again. “You’re one tough cookie, sweetheart. My brother will absolutely love you.” 

“What’s he like, if you don’t mind my asking?” 

“A nerdy stick in the mud, but he has respect for people who can put up with a little bit of pain.” Momo smiled in her nostalgia. “He moved after his husband died during the AIDS epidemic. Too many bad memories in New York, I suppose. I haven’t seen him since though since he’s hopped across the damn country, he didn't even come to my wedding. However, I’m sure since we’ve rekindled our relationship, we both will have a much easier time.” 

She coughed into her elbow before she raised her eyebrows at her. There was the time discrepancy again, she thought, and it frightened her almost as much as it intrigued her. Momo was enigmatic and predatorial, the eighth wonder of the world and she hadn’t known her for more than five minutes. Perhaps it was the sense of danger that made her so curious or how beautiful Momo was, either way she was well on her way to obsession. 

“I-I don’t understand.” She coughed, and she watched as Momo sneered. “You’ve made time discrepancies twice now. If you haven’t seen your brother since the eighties, then you two haven’t seen each other since you were children, and your brother couldn’t have had a husband then. He would've been a child and same-sex marriage wasn’t legal then. I’m… confused.” 

“You’re catching on, good. I like smart girls.” She chuckled. “But I’ll let you figure it out, I don’t like giving out spoilers.” She winked at her as they pulled into Toushirou’s driveway and she watched as Momo pushed her sunglasses back on. They pulled themselves out of the hearse-limo and slammed the doors behind them and she followed at Momo’s heels as they marched up the weedy walk. Momo knocked before she reached back and plucked the cigarette from her lips and smothered it between her fingertips as they waited. The door opened moments later to a man– Toushirou, the handsome, mysterious pariah of Karakura, and she watched as he smiled gently at his sister. 

“Momo, it’s nice to see you again.” He breathed as he pulled his sister into a tight hug. 

As Toushirou pulled them inside, she was surprised at how dark his home was, nothing less than absolutely dreary. Thick draperies were pulled over the windows, and the yellow light from the half-melted candles lit sporadically around the room couldn’t have lit the space. The decor was hardly any better; bleached animal skulls rest with leather-bound books on the shelf and the paintings that adorned the wall were ancient and creepy– she felt they watched her–. She frowned then. 

“Momo, who is this? Have you, ah…” Toushirou trailed off then as they sat on the sofa, he in the armchair, and Momo chuckled. 

“No, hardly. Izuru and I aren’t ready for such a responsibility. She’s merely a dinner guest.” She raised her eyebrow curiously then as Momo laughed. 

“Please forgive me, but I’m so lost right now. Could you guys clarify what you’re talking about?” She inquired shamefully as they sat on his couch, and Momo pat her knee affectionately as she grinned. 

“Don’t sweat it, dollface. You’re just that– a dinner guest.” 

Her gaze rested on Momo’s fangs, and cold terror washed over her in her realization. “Oh god, you guys are—” 

Momo pushed her onto her back then, and before she could’ve cried out, her fangs sunk into her neck. She gurgled weakly as numbness overcame her extremities, and her vision tunneled until she was plunged into limbo. 

OOO 

_“I cannot believe we were unlucky enough to get one with the gene.”_

“Speak for yourself. I’m the one who has to take care of her now.” 

“I was just trying to be sympathetic, Momo. No need to take offense.” 

She groaned then, reached up and rubbed her crusty eyes with her wrists. She coughed dryly then– her insides felt like a giant callous, tough and dehydrated–, and she rasped hoarsely as she peeled her eyes open. “Water,” 

“Well, you heard the poor girl. Go fetch something from your stash, Toushirou. Newborns come into this world absolutely famished-- just ask Yumichika’s new ward.” 

“He and Ikkaku have finally decided to take in progeny?” 

“Yes, I’ll tell you all about it later after we get something in her stomach.” 

Her dry vision flitted to a black, indistinguishable blob, and her chest rattled as she breathed and gurgled as she choked on air. She heard the rip of plastic then and a hard tube inserted past her teeth, and moments later, viscous liquid spilled down her throat and filled the fissures in her. Her vision focused then, and Momo and Toushirou focused, and she tore away from them with a cry and fell over the arm of the sofa in her escape attempt. 

“St-stay away from me, you monsters!” She shouted as she backpedaled. Her back bumped against the wall and she whined as fear washed over her. She was so foolish, she thought, to let her curiosity and her boredom override her self-preservation when it _screamed_ in her ear. She would die there, alone, and cannibalized by madmen, and she burst into tears then. “I wanna go home…” she whined, and she slid down the wall, curled her legs to her chest and buried her face in her knees as she hugged them. 

“No, darling. No, no, no. I’m afraid you won’t ever see home again, as I’ve… incidentally made you into one of us so you can’t return home.” Momo sighed, and she felt light-headed then. She whined and tears brimmed her eyes. 

“What the hell?” She croaked. 

“I would apologize, however, I don’t think it would mean much seeing as how I’ve ruined your life.” She watched as Momo raked her manicured nails through her coffee-black bob. “I mean, unless it would be of comfort. Then I suppose an apology is due.” 

“Come now, Momo, it wasn’t like you knew they were the one percent that had the gene for vampirism, nor that she was a minor-- she looks like she's in her twenties. You’re hardly at fault.” Toushirou chirped from the kitchenette, and she watched as Momo turned to glare at him. 

“Hold your tongue. Instead of giving this poor girl a swift, peaceful death, I’ve given her an eternity away from her loved ones, and I doubt she wants that.” Momo spat, and she found that she smiled because of it. There was a sudden enchantment to Momo, a gravitation different to her intrigue. She couldn’t put her finger on it, however. 

She pushed herself to her feet and nervously rubbed her hands together, ignored the sudden affection she felt towards Momo. “S-so long as you’re sorry.” She murmured. “And I suppose since you said I can’t go home, I’ll need to make the most of my time with you.” 

Momo seemed to ease then, her shoulders drooped in her relief and she almost wanted to hug her. It was strange, she thought, her sudden attachment. “Oh, you’re simply the sweetest, doll. It may be strange for the first while, but you’ll get used to it. And my husband is simply fantastic, I tell you, I’m sure you’ll love him.” She nodded as Momo pranced to her and pulled her hands into her’s, and she smiled gently as she squealed. 

“I thought you didn’t want to take on any progeny.” Toushirou said blandly. 

“Hush now, it’s the hormones. You’ll understand if you ever take one in.” Momo sighed as she reached forward and pet her hair. “Come now! I’ve much to teach you, and we have copious amounts of shopping to do. I’ll see you later, Toushirou, though I hope you’ll bother moving back to New York sometime, it would be easier on both of us.” 

“I’ll…” she watched as Toushirou combed his fingers through his hair. “I’ll mull it over, dearest sister. But please, orient the young whelp and I’ll visit once she’s used to her surroundings. Now go, shoo. You have so much to do.” 

Momo whined as they were kicked out, and she sighed. “Come now. We’ve got to set up a new identity for you and buy you a new wardrobe and repurpose the guestroom. Oh my, this has me excited!” 

They dipped into the limo, and Wabisuke started it as Momo called up who she supposed was her husband. She pushed the curtains back then just a crack and watched as Karakura disappeared. 

She wasn’t sure how she felt, she thought. She just knew she wouldn’t have been bored ever again.


	2. Instinct

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She needs to make some decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to pretend I don't hate this AU now.

It was a long drive. The first two minutes were fine; she was just shell-shocked was all and it was difficult to feel anything when she hadn’t even begun to process all that had just happened to her, and then Momo had launched into an argument over the phone with her husband which ended in a few choice words and a hang-up on her new guardian's part.

She felt bad to have caused a fight between Momo and her husband. She didn't want to be the root of contention, she didn’t _want_ to cause trouble and especially for her. And it was _strange_ how obligated she felt, she thought. She wondered if it was an early onset of Stockholm syndrome.

She frowned then. Either way, she wasn’t sure what she wanted. She wanted to go home-- she would’ve put up with Karakura’s god awful small town disposition by then-- but her very bones seemed to gravitate to Momo. It was a maelstrom of confliction and confusion, and she was a ragdoll blown about in her own storm.

"Missus Kira, I need to stop for gas." Wabisuke chirped. They were about halfway to New York, she noted. It’d felt longer.

"Alright. Stop at the next exit." Momo sighed. "Jesus, and it's seven o'clock already. I still need to call up Nanao for our new budget.” She turned to her then, reached over and combed her nails through her scalp. “I'm sorry, dearest. I haven't been able to talk to you at all, but it happens when you're running a damn company."

"C-company?" She questioned.

"Yes. I'm the CMO of an international hotel chain." She responded simply as she typed up a number on her Blackberry. "I'll be with you in a moment. This shouldn't take long."

She nodded then, ignored her awe because she’d been through weirder by then and turned her gaze out the window. She'd long not recognized anything outside; the only familiarity she had was inside the hearse and Momo, and she hardly could’ve called either of them familiar.

She was virtually alone in a new world. At least Momo brought her some solace, though not much with her attention elsewhere.

"Wabisuke, stop for a toothbrush too. Karin at least needs some toiletries for tonight." Momo whispered then, and she held on as Wabisuke made a sharp turn. "Alright, just put the budget on my desk-- no, give it to Renee and she'll put it in my files. I'll see you in the morning then, bye." She hung up then and dumped her phone in the ashtray.

"My apologies, dearest. Nanao with finance doesn’t like computers, so she’s still using paper and it can be a little frustrating." Momo rolled her eyes as she pulled out a cigarette. "Unfortunately, I don't think we'll be able to do much shopping for you tonight, my dear. I mean unless you _want_ Walmart clothes, but I wouldn't inflict such abominations on my worst enemy."

"I-I'm okay with it." She croaked, and she tucked her hair behind her ear as Momo lit up.

"Ugh, you poor thing. At least humor, maybe we’ll find something you like. You're simply too cute to be wearing anything tacky." Momo said with a wave of her hand, and she nodded shortly.

"Missus Kira--"

"Just Momo, doll. The only individuals that have to refer to me so formally are the ones I don't like. Except for Wabisuke, but I can't seem to get him to loosen up."

She nodded again. "I-I feel… _weird_." She said, and she watched as Momo frowned.

“Weird how, doll? Are you ill?”

“No. I just feel off. Conflicted might be a better word. I don’t think I like you but parts of me want to stay with you and be praised by you. It’s weird.”

“That’s perfectly natural. All vampires feel an attachment to their sire or madam; in a sense they’re their progeny’s parent. I still feel obligation to my own sire as strong as it was the first day he turned me, and it’s been ninety years since then. Toushirou and Izuru are hardly any different. We just learn how to better handle it over time.”

It piqued her interest then, and she leaned towards her. "Your sire?"

"Yes. His name is Shinji. I was…” Momo cleared her throat and took a long drag. “When I was human, I married an abusive man. It escalated to the point in which he hit me with a bat and..." She watched as her lips pursed, and her heart launched into her throat. She was on a roll that day, she thought, upset Momo twice then. "To summarize, Shinji took a shot in the dark and saved my life."

“O-oh,” she responded.

"Oh, and he's simply the most wonderful man. He never once was mean, and his sarcasm is fun once you join in on it, and he still always tells me how smart I am. Ooh, maybe I'll call him tomorrow and introduce you two. That would be simply wonderful, you would get along splendidly!"

"I would like to, if that's alright." And she was sincere, she thought. Momo’s eyes sparkled with joy and she was the prettiest then, she thought. She wanted to share that joy.

"Oh, now I'm excited!" Momo squealed as Wabisuke pulled into a gas station. “Wait a minute for me to touch up my makeup if you need to go, doll. You can’t be alone around humans for awhile until we’ve assured your self-restraint. Don’t want you attacking anybody, now would we?”

Her heart stuttered in her chest then as monster surfaced in her conscious. She felt sick then and blinked back tears. She was dangerous _and_ hurtful. It was pathetic, really.

"Missus Kira, would you rather me escort her?" Wabisuke rumbled.

“It depends whether or not she’s comfortable with it." Momo replied. “You know how finicky newborns are.”

It surprised her, she thought, that either of them would’ve considered it acceptable for a man to follow her inside. Vampires were weird.

“I’m… not sure I would be comfortable alone, even with Wabisuke outside. I mean, he can’t actually come with me-- maybe restrict any traffic but…” She trailed off then.

“Oh! Don’t worry, doll. Wabisuke isn’t human and especially isn’t a man. He’s my husband’s shadow. Our shadows are… corporeal emotions, think of them as. Mine is a firestorm-- my temper-- and my husband’s is a guardian who lives in the shadows and absorbs any threats and can only be seen by people I want to see him. He’s not actually a man, we just call him he because I’d feel bad calling something sentient ‘it’.”

“O-oh,” she said. “O-okay then, I’m alright with it.”

She and Wabisuke strode inside the fluorescent gas station, and the register regarded them with a mere nod. Wabisuke was even stranger in the light, she noted. Although he walked, it was a stiff shamble and his shadowy being twitched and wiggled. It was absolutely bizarre.

Wabisuke stood by the towel dispenser as she entered a stall, and she didn’t realize how badly she had to go until she sat down. But it was to have some semblance of humanity still, even if it was the weirdest thing to find humanity in.

They returned outside after she washed her hands, tank full and Momo had already paid. “Onwards, Wabisuke. I want to get the argument I’m about to have with my husband done and over with.”

“D-does your husband not like m-me?” She stammered, and she curled her legs to her chest. “I- I don’t w-want to ruin y-your homelife.”

“Oh, no. We just weren’t expecting to take on progeny.” Momo reached over and pet her hair then, smiled motheringly as they pulled onto the highway. “Don’t worry, doll. You’re not at fault. We’ll figure out something; and your best interest is our priority.”

She leaned her temple on Momo's shoulder-- it was the closest to a hug she was comfortable not asking for--, and her guardian smiled then.

It was far from a quiet ride afterwards. Momo was sociable; definitely one for copious amounts of conversation. And she liked it, she felt less alone then. She was like a mother, a solace she hadn't known since she was a toddler. It was nice-- an experience she hadn't felt since her biological mother's death.

... she wondered then if she and Momo shared any biology. It was possible, and she wanted to ask but the conversation was so light-hearted that she didn't want to tarnish the moment they’d created with Vampire Maturation 1010. She'd never had so much fun with just virtual small-talk. Although she knew it was because of her attachment to Momo, it was still nice.

Wabisuke pulled to a stop then, and they climbed out. It was a large house she saw; two story and fairly modern. Its facade was white, pillars which held up the second story above the open doorway, and there were large windows in the front. A blond, scrawny man stood in the open doorway, light from the parlor illuminated his edges and cast his shadow over the walk.

She frowned then, narrowed her eyes at him as she brushed past. If he _dared_ raise his voice at Momo, she thought, she would've ruined him.

Her frowned deepened then at her belligerent reflex. She really was attached, she thought.

"That her?" Momo's husband-- _Izuru_ , she recalled from their conversation earlier-- inquired then as she stepped into a spacious livingroom and kitchen.

"I'm not going to argue with you in front of Karin. We'll talk about this like civil beings after she's resting." Momo said curtly. "Come now, doll. I'll show you to our guest room. We'll have to repurpose it later but I hope it'll do for at least the night."

She nodded then, and she followed her guardian up a carpeted staircase.

"Momo, I'm---"

Momo turned then, and she backed against the wall in startlement as she stared at her guardian's glare.

"Later. We'll talk about this when we _won't_ further traumatize our progeny."

Izuru pursed his lips then. "Alright. I'll... I'll pour you something to drink. I doubt you've fed since this afternoon." He said. "And I'm..."

"I'll see you in a few. Come now, doll."

She followed Momo up the stairs again through darkened hallways and into a door. Momo flipped on the light then, and it was the master bedroom. There was a neatly made king-sized bed on the wall under the window and cluttered nightstands on either side, and she saw the entrances to a walk-in closet and the master bathroom to the side.

Momo walked to the closet and motioned for her to follow, and she did, folded her arms under her chest as she looked about the small room filled with clothes and shoes and she spotted an array of watches off to the side in a box.

“Here you are, doll. I’m assuming you’d be alright wearing my old pajamas for tonight, at least. Hopefully tomorrow I can get off early and get some shopping done for you.” She nodded then as Momo handed her a pair of sky-blue pajamas, and she held them to her chest. “The guest room is just down the hall, hang a right and it's the first door on the left. You’ll have to excuse me now, I have to face down my husband. Get some rest, doll.”

Momo brushed past her then. She stood in silence before she made her way to her room, shut the door behind her and changed, dumped her day clothes in the hamper by the dresser and crawled into her bed.

She wanted to know what they talked about. It was _her_ future, logically, and she deserved to know and have a say what happened to her then. But... Momo told her to sleep, and she didn't want to cause more trouble.

... She reminded herself then that she didn't owe anybody, and especially not the woman who ruined her life-- even if it was an honest mistake. And she felt terrible for such, but it was irrational obligation and she needed to take some initiative in her life.

Her will hardened, she flipped off the light and silently opened the door. She tiptoed across the hall and hid by the stairs, and she heard soft conversation from the couple.

"I won't budge on this, Izuru. _I_ ruined that poor girl's life, and I'm taking full responsibility for it."

"As admirable as that is, I don't know if you're well enough to take care of anybody else. You did have a meltdown just last year from how much stress the company was putting on you. In the best interest of your progeny, we should hand her over to the services so she can be placed in a family where she can be cared for."

"My meltdown was because of Sousuke’s appeal, and you know it. Yes, my position is a lot of stress-- but it was the risk of the man who nearly killed me being let loose in the world that sent me over the edge.”

“And how do you know having progeny won't be the same amount of stress? You'll worry that you can't take care of Karin, I know this Momo, and god knows what that will do to you.”

“I am _not_ traumatizing that poor child anymore than I already have. You and I both know how damaging it is to be separated from your guardian, and any further changes in her environment would be terrible for her sense of stability. I refuse to abandon her."

"But Momo, your _health_. You talk of stability but you can barely manage your position. Having progeny on top of it have so much on your plate already and I worry that you'll have another meltdown. Imagine what that would do to your progeny. She needs support, stable support, and I don't know if you can provide that."

"I suppose I'll have growing to do then."

"Momo that's not how this works---"

"I'm not discussing this---...”

Her heart lodged in her throat as their debate paused, and her blood roared in her nervousness that she'd been discovered. She would be in _so_ much trouble.

“Alright, Karin, I know you're there. Come on out."

She swallowed the lump in her trachea and stepped out of darkness down the stairs. She paused at the bottom and shamefully played with the hem of her nightshirt, ashamed of herself. “I'm sorry. Please don't be angry.”

"Come now, I'm not angry with you. You at least take initiative." Momo pulled her to the table, and they sat side-by-side before Izuru. She stared down at her hands in her lap, nervous as he frowned at her.

"She should have a say, Izuru. I can guarantee she's smart enough to do the right thing whatever it may be.”

“Fine, go ahead.”

“What do you think, doll?" Momo inquired as she pet her hair.

"I..." She cleared her throat then. She wasn't sure, she thought. She wanted to go home and stay with Momo and run like Hell and she simply wasn't sure. She wasn’t mature enough to choose anything outside of her own selfish wants, let alone the ‘right thing’.

"What... would happen if I were to stay?" She inquired. "I... I'm... I don't.... I want to... I want to know my options."

"Well, you really only have two options; you can stay here and risk a breakdown from my wife, or you can go with the services and be put into a safer home. This isn't a safe, stable environment; Momo is prone to depressive episodes and my occupation is questionable at best. You shouldn't have to live in such a toxic environment." Izuru said, and Momo shot him a venomous glare.

She floundered then, opened and closed her mouth. If she would've caused her guardian more stress than she could've handled then... then she wasn't _sure_. She was so selfish. She didn't want to leave but she did and she didn't want to cause Momo trouble but she didn't want to leave her because she needed her then because...

She didn't have anybody else, then that she thought about it. She couldn't return to her family, she couldn't make them watch her stay sixteen whilst they aged, and she couldn't watch them die either. She was alone without Momo.

But she would hurt her if she stayed, and she would've ruined her marriage and---

"Izuru, I can't make her choose. She should have a say, but look at her; she's so torn. What if I go see a psychiatrist? I'll finally resolve my trauma and perhaps learn how to better cope with my stress instead of just bottling it up. But I can't tear my progeny away from me. I'll take care of all of us. And Izuru, if you can't support myself and Karin, then _leave_. I'd rather do it alone than have somebody who refuses to support either of us around her."

She watched as Izuru's eyes widened as Momo glared at him through her lashes. "M-Momo---"

She bit her lip then. She upset Momo and possibly ruined her marriage all in one day, and she was so ashamed and pathetic and---

She winced as her incisors punctured her lip. She pinched her cut between her fingers and swore, and Momo added in some colorful words as she pulled a handkerchief from her breast pocket.

"Oh, I'm sorry doll. We didn't mean to cause you any stress."

Her lip wobbled as Momo dabbed at the blood on her lip, and scolded herself as tears brimmed her eyes. She was scared then; alone and worried and lost. She didn't want to leave Momo at all then.

"Can I stay here?" She murmured, and she was pulled against her guardian's bosom in her hug.

"Of course you may, doll. Izuru, _please_. I swear to take better care of myself, and I'm sure after we train her to utilize her shadow she'll be safe from any of your potential enemies in the future if you worry about that too."

She watched as Izuru sighed, twirled his drink in his hand. "Alright. It's not like I have much of a choice." His cerulean gaze flicked to her then. "I apologize if I came off as hostile. I worry about my wife’s wellbeing." He said, and she nodded.

"I know." She nodded, and she did. He was worried about Momo's health and her too, he was more selfless than she was.

"Alright, I won't enable you anymore, doll. Go to bed, get some rest."

She nodded then, quietly stood and padded up the stairs to her room. She curled up under the blankets, held the feather pillow to her as she drifted to sleep.


End file.
